can i only give 4 bottles a day?

[julesdq]

hi ladies
my little girl is 12 wks and isn't very hungry every 3 hours. she now has a 4 hour gap between the first and second feeds of the day then every 3 hours so i can fit her 5 bottles in before she goes to bed. she isn't taking that much in those other feeds so need to increase to 4 hours for all bottles, but the problem is that she goes to bed around 6:30 / 7pm and wakes around 7am without a dream feed. do i now have to start giving her 4 bottles during the day and a dream feed at night? is that the only option?
i tried the dream feed when she was around 6 weeks and it wasn't successful. she would either not take it or she would wake a few times during the night with wind that's why i'm hesitant to start the dream feed     can i rather just give 4 bottles a day with more milk in each bottle equaling all she needs?
any thoughts please
 thanks, julie

[Lolly]

If she will drink bigger bottles less often that is fine! Providing she is getting what she needs, has plenty of wet and dirty nappies and is alert in her A times she will do fine. Formula fed babies do go longer between feeds than breastfed babies because formula takes longer to digest.

If she is sleeping through on the millk she gets in the day then she is getting enough, she will wake hungry in the night if she needs more. There is a big growth spurt around 16 weeks so you may find you get night wakings for food for a few days. If she wakes at night and can't be resettled easily I would assume hunger as she is still young for sleeping through. Keep an eye on her weight gain too as that will tell you if she is getting what she needs!

Laura

[julesdq]

thanks so much laura! that's really helpful :-)